Civic Center, Manhattan

Civic Center is a neighborhood of lower Manhattan, New York City that is home to City Hall, One Police Plaza, and the Foley Square courthouses. The area was once marshland and pastoral fields, and the Lenape tribe inhabited the area until the United Provinces established the town of "Collect Pond" in the area in 1609. In 1700, NYC's first city hall was built, and the old New Gaol debtor prison was converted into the city hall's house of records in 1830. The city hall was renovated several times during the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, and it became the site of a beautiful public park in addition to several important buildings.